More than 1,000 people gathered around Portland City Hall Wednesday afternoon for a peaceful protest organized by Black Lives Matter Portland leaders. A sea of protesters wore all-black clothes in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement and masks to reduce the spread of the coronavirus during the ongoing pandemic.

Similar demonstrations have spread across Maine, the United States and around the world over the past week and a half since George Floyd, a black man, was killed when Derek Chauvin, a white Minneapolis police officer, crushed Floyd’s neck with his knee for nearly 9 minutes as Floyd vocalized that he couldn’t breathe. Chauvin has since been charged with second-degree murder, and three officers who were also present were charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder. Floyd died on May 25.

INTERACTIVE

HEALTH, TRANSPARENCY

CORONAVIRUS

Grief and death in the era of COVID-19

Along with provoking a pandemic, COVID-19 has triggered a grief epidemic. It has robbed families of final goodbyes, left loved ones to die with strangers, postponed wakes and funerals. And it has overwhelmed Maine’s “Last Responders,” priests, chaplains, funeral directors and hospice workers who must work around restrictions aimed at diminishing virus infections.

Pine Tree Watch takes readers on an emotional journey into the lives of families who have lost loved ones and the Last Responders who must find new ways to console and comfort.

CORONAVIRUS

They were born in the weeks and months after 9/11 and are graduating in the year of a crippling pandemic. Maine’s high school seniors have lived through some of the most profound change our country has ever witnessed.

With nearly every Maine high school cancelling in-class lessons for the remainder of the school year, these young adults are missing out on cornerstone experiences that ease the transition from being a child to being an adult.

No prom. No senior sports season. No yearbook signatures. No final play or performance. No awards dinner. No senior prank. No senior ditch day.

For so many, no final farewell.

With so much focus on the death, despair and financial pain that’s accompanied the spread of the coronavirus, Pine Tree Watch felt it was important to capture the stories of a senior class that has been prematurely dismissed.

CORONAVIRUS, MONEY, POLITICS

The Maine Trust Project

In our mistrust-filled world full of political contention and both fake and devastating news, mustering the courage to have authentic conversations with people can be a challenge. Finding common ground and engaging in civil discourse about important issues facing our communities, our state, our country and our world can seem elusive, if not sadly impossible.

This concerning state of affairs prompted Pine Tree Watch to examine the concept of trust. In this series called “The Maine Trust Project,” we sit down each month with a Maine resident to discuss this precious commodity. We’ll see which people and institutions Mainers trust and how the concept of trust drives their thought processes and actions.

In our mistrust-filled world full of political contention and both fake and devastating news, mustering the courage to have authentic conversations with people can be a challenge. Finding common ground and engaging in civil discourse about important issues facing our communities, our state, our country and our world can seem elusive, if not sadly impossible.

This concerning state of affairs prompted Pine Tree Watch to examine the concept of trust. In this series called “The Maine Trust Project,” we sit down each month with a Maine resident to discuss this precious commodity. We’ll see which people and institutions Mainers trust and how the concept of trust drives their thought processes and actions.

In our mistrust-filled world full of political contention and both fake and devastating news, mustering the courage to have authentic conversations with people can be a challenge. Finding common ground and engaging in civil discourse about important issues facing our communities, our state, our country and our world can seem elusive, if not sadly impossible.

This concerning state of affairs prompted Pine Tree Watch to examine the concept of trust. In this series called “The Maine Trust Project,” we sit down each month with a Maine resident to discuss this precious commodity. We’ll see which people and institutions Mainers trust and how the concept of trust drives their thought processes and actions.

In our mistrust-filled world full of political contention and both fake and devastating news, mustering the courage to have authentic conversations with people can be a challenge. Finding common ground and engaging in civil discourse about important issues facing our communities, our state, our country and our world can seem elusive, if not sadly impossible.

This concerning state of affairs prompted Pine Tree Watch to examine the concept of trust. In this series called “The Maine Trust Project,” we sit down each month with a Maine resident to discuss this precious commodity. We’ll see which people and institutions Mainers trust and how the concept of trust drives their thought processes and actions.

Michael Burman is a neuroscientist and an associate professor of psychology at the University of New England in Biddeford, teaching his students that their sensory experiences are not trustworthy.

A simple way to wrap your head around that concept is to think about visual illusions that trick the brain, such as the three lines with arrow heads that each have a different orientation, making the lines look like they’re different lengths, when they really aren’t.

In early November, Russ Murley and a friend went hiking on a trail that is no longer included on trail maps, but the two experienced rock climbers knew about it and felt comfortable on it.

They climbed through boulder fields and finally found themselves facing a 25-foot vertical wall of rock. A previous hiker had left a fixed rope in the rock face. It looked safe to use, so Russ’ friend grabbed hold and climbed up with no troubles. But when Russ took the rope in his hand and he confronted his next move – swinging by that rope across the rock to find his first foothold – he froze.

In our mistrust-filled world full of political contention and both fake and devastating news, mustering the courage to have authentic conversations with people can be a challenge. Finding common ground and engaging in civil discourse about important issues facing our communities, our state, our country and our world can seem elusive, if not sadly impossible.

This concerning state of affairs prompted Pine Tree Watch to examine the concept of trust. In this series called “The Maine Trust Project,” we sit down each month with a Maine resident to discuss this precious commodity. We’ll see which people and institutions Mainers trust and how the concept of trust drives their thought processes and actions.

In our mistrust-filled world full of political contention and both fake and devastating news, mustering the courage to have authentic conversations with people can be a challenge. Finding common ground and engaging in civil discourse about important issues facing our communities, our state, our country and our world can seem elusive, if not sadly impossible.

This concerning state of affairs prompted Pine Tree Watch to examine the concept of trust. In this series called “The Maine Trust Project,” we sit down each month with a Maine resident to discuss this precious commodity. We’ll see which people and institutions Mainers trust and how the concept of trust drives their thought processes and actions.

Dona Emerson picks up hitchhikers. Most people, especially women, have been schooled in the dangers of giving strangers a ride, and Dona was no exception. “My (85-year-old) mother,” she said, “would kill me if she knew how many I’ve picked up.”

And yet, she still does it.

Why? Because Dona Emerson understands the importance of reaching out to people to create connections, and she values the role of trust in that endeavor.

The Maine Center for Public Interest Reporting

Facts matter. Our nonprofit, nonpartisan news service holds Maine state government and institutions accountable. Our journalists use data- and document-based reporting to produce stories that have an impact.